Earthvision Battle Royale 2020
The Earthvision Battle Royal 2020, also known as the EBR 2020, Earthvision 2020, or more simply Ghana 2020, was the 5th edition of the annual Battle Royale contest that took place in country. A total of 192 nations took part and sent one citizen to this event. The Earthvision consisted of four semi-finals, the first two starting on May 31 at 12 pm and 6 pm, while the third and fourth semi-finals starting on the 1st of June, at the same time. The host nation, Ghana, was the winning nation of the 2019 edition the previous year, which meant that they automatically qualified to the Grand Final for this year's edition. The other 191 nations were drawn randomly into pots - regardless of country location - and distributed into the four semi finals. There, each citizen would compete in a fight to the death until 12 remain (11 in semi-finals 3 and 4). The qualifiers from each semi-final would then be rescued from the arena and 8 days later would make up the 48 (including the host nation) in the Grand Final. Each nation was allowed to pick their citizen in any way they choose, as long as they are picked before March 30th. The build-up to the Games was overshadowed by rampant media speculation that Ghana wouldn't be able to afford the creation of the highly technologically-advanced Arena, stadiums, and accommodations for the millions of tourists. When construction fell behind schedule, the Gamemakers stepped in themselves and hired their own construction firms to take over the building of the Arena, and oversaw the completion of everything until the Opening Ceremony. North Korea, Syria, and Yemen sat out for the fourth year in a row. Iraq was initially due to participate, but withdrew in early February due to lack of fund and instability in their country. Monaco never released a reason as to why they sat out during these Games. Western Sahara, set to debut in 2019, finally made their debut. Arena The Arena for this year's Battle Royale was decided to be the Digya National Park. The Arena portion was the areas surrounding Lake Volta. As usual, the Gamemakers placed obstacles in the Arena to make it more challenging for the citizens. All the primates and mammals in the arena were muttations, save for the smaller ones that could be used for nourishment. At night, bacteria in the water would appear and make it undrinkable. Format and Rules The draw to determine which nation would compete in which semifinal as well as the pod number for the host country took place in Accra, Ghana on November 29, 2019. Ghana was selected to start on Pod 14. Each competing nation had to declare their intent to join by December 1st, and declare their competing citizen by March x, 201x. Most countries picked their citizen through an internal selection. These are done when the governments hold a nationally televised lottery where citizens are assigned a set of numbers, and are chosen if their numbers are picked. There are millions of cases each year where people try to volunteer for to be their nation's citizen. In this situation, the volunteers are given as many lottery numbers as they can buy (in some countries they cost as little as $2, while in bigger countries like the US, Russia, Australia, etc. prices can go up to $1000 each), so the chances one of their number combinations is picked goes up. Though the vast majority of citizens picked embrace their fate and their chance to take part in this romanticized gladiator-style event, most governments dispatch thousands of personnel across their country so that they can reach their chosen citizen within minutes of being selected, just in case one tries to run away. In the meantime, citizen's are usually invited to multiple locations across the globe as to promote themselves and their country, create alliances, and get sponsors. While there are tens to hundreds of unofficial smaller parties all around the world, the biggest and most watched are the Official pre-parties sanctioned by the EOs. It is not required to go on tour to any of these parties; the decision is entirely up to the government and how much they want to spend their strictly-defined EO imposed budget on it ($500,000 per nation). The schedule for these major ones are: *New York City, USA - 29 February *Montréal, Canada - 6 March *Paris, France - 13 March *Tel Aviv, Israel- 27 March *Mumbai, India - 3 April *Macau, China - 9 April *Melbourne, Australia - 12 April After being chosen, the citizens took part in a press conference outside their home and the build-up started. Depending on how early or late their national reaping was, they either stayed at their home (under close discreet surveillance), went on tour, or were transported immediately to the host country where they and the hundreds of other citizens stayed in a citizen-only village. They were allowed to have family and friends come and visit them up until the day before the citizen competed in the Battle Royal. All citizens had to arrive exactly one month prior to the first semi-final, in order for them to have enough time to train and acclimate to the surroundings. The EOs provided each citizen with a personal team that includes trainers, stylists, cooks, field specialists, etc. For the month or two that the citizens were there, they were encouraged to learn survival skills and do strength training so they could improve their survival chances (and provide a great entertainment show). The evening before the first semi-final, the Opening Ceremony took place. Comparable to the ceremonies of the Olympic Games, this one celebrated x history and culture and included many pyrotechnics, acts and performances, music, and fireworks. The Parade of Nations took place shortly afterwards, which included each citizen pulled by a high-tec chariot decorated to represent their country, surrounded by an entourage of performers showing off that country's culture and national symbols, all of which was led by their national flag. Speeches were held by the EOs and the x government, followed by citizen oaths and raising of flags. Finally, the cauldron was lit to symbolize the official start of the Battle Royale, to be extinguished only by the winner of the Grand Final themselves. Following the Opening Ceremony, all citizens went on a lockdown. They were not permitted to leave their building or have access to any outside information that could have helped them in the Arena. Citizens in semi-finals two, three, and four were not allowed to view or have any knowledge of what happens in the semi-final that occurs before theirs as well. This was to ensure that the suspense is kept and no citizen had an unfair advantage over an other. Qualification 191 Nations participated in this edition of the Earthvision Battle Royale. Forty-eight nations competed in the first two semi-finals, while forty-seven competed in the third and forth semi-finals. Semi-Final 1 The first semi-final lasted from 12 pm on May 31 to 2:26 pm on June 3rd. Semi-Final 2 The second semi-final took place from 6 pm on May 31st to 9:15 am on June 5th. Semi-Final 3 The third semi-final took place from 12 pm on June 1st to 4:09 pm on June 6th. Semi-Final 4 The fourth semi-final took place from 6 pm on June 1st to 10:20 pm on June 6th. Summary of the Semi-Finals File:Summary of Kills EBR 2020 - Semifinal 1.png| Semi-Final 1 File:Summary of Kills EBR 2020 - Semifinal 2.png| Semi-Final 2 File:Summary of Kills EBR 2020 - Semifinal 3.png| Semi-Final 3 File:Summary of Kills EBR 2020 - Semifinal 4.png| Semi-Final 4 Preparation for the Grand Final Pod Order The draw for the pot order, which determines where around the Cornucopia a nation's citizen is to stand and take off for it when the Battle starts, was held on June 20th. It is seen as important because a citizen who gets drawn towards the middle is in a direct straight line to the Cornucopia and slightly closer, as oppose to those at either end who are further away and at an angle. Live Coverage of the Grand Final Welcome to the start of the Earthvision Battle Royale 2020. In just over 5 minutes, 48 citizens representing countries from all across the globe will be raised onto their pods going into the Arena, and in what will likely be two and a half weeks, one will emerge as the sole victor. One can only imagine how nervous and anxious the competing countries' fans are, and how even more nervous the citizens must be! Day 1 (14 June) Cesar Ibanez of is killed by Vera Frusoni of . Teranda Shundi of is killed by Andre Tsolo of . Virgilio Tijerina of is killed by Vera Frusoni of . Nirou Kaviani of is killed by Jasmine Deloffre of . Luisa Morales of is killed by Liman Sidari of . Day 1 Recap At 12 pm today, billions across the world saw all 48 tributes being raised onto their pods for the Grand Final of this year's Earthvision Battle Royale. The gong went off, and they all immediately sprinted for the Cornucopia. Alliances have already been formed and it showed. Cesar and Virgilio - two South American citizens - formed an alliance but both were killed at the Cornucopia by Vera Frusoni of Cape Verde. Teranda was trying to scramble through some backpacks when Andre of Congo tackled her from behind and stabbed her in the back, as well as Nirou of Iran being picked off by Jasmine of France with her newly-acquired throwing knife. The Bloodbath died down after that as the remaining tribute dispersed throughout the Arena. Later on in the evening, Luisa from Honduras was spotted by Liman of Indonesia trying to light a fire. Liman took advantage of the situation and strangled her to death. Five tributes died, 43 remain. Day 2 (15 June) Laya Jianjun of is killed by Aliaa El-Maalouf of . Liman Sidari of is killed by Finlay Ward of . ''Day 2 Recap'' Today was a quieter day. In the early morning hours, Aliaa of Lebanon was hunting a hoarde of meerkats when she was suddenly tackled to the ground by a scremaing Laya of Timor-Leste. The two rolled around and Laya tried her best to kill Aliaa, but the Lebanese citizen had the upper-hand and punched her down and used her moment of weakness to stab her. Later on in the afternoon, Finlay from Canada saw Liman from Indonesia and pursued her in a lengthy chase near the shores of Lake Volta. Liman desperately tried to escape him by swimming across the lake, but Finlay, armed with a crossbow, shot her in the head as she ran away. Two citizens died, 41 remain. Day 3 (16 June) Diego Córdoba of is killed by Mimi Hallström of . Aliaa El-Maalouf of is killed by Finlay Ward of . Tabi Zogby of is killed by Letitia Milano of . ''Day 3 Recap'' Finlay of Canada is really starting to prove himself as an early favorite here. He killed one of the pre-contest favorites, Aliaa of Lebanon, earlier this afternoon by using a dead carcass of a muttation lion that he killed as a distraction to get her to get near him. We are still very early on in this Battle Royale and anything can happen, but millions of Canadians can't help but wonder if this year could be their year. Diego of Guatemala was surprisingly killed by one of the youngest citizens in this year's BR, Mimi of Sweden. The 15 year old girl managed to sneak up behind him while hiding in the undergrowth and shoot him with a bow-and-arrow. Lastly, towards the end of the night, Tabi of Mauritius was spotted sleeping by Letitia of Dominica, who slit her throat as she slept for good measure. Three citizens died, 38 remain. Day 4 (17 June) Jaycee Gill of is killed by Iorghu Mihailov of . Najwa Jafri of is killed by Yulian Sokolov of . ''Day 4 Recap'' Another slow day today. Many tributes are spread throughout the Arena, leading to speculation that an Arena Event will be triggered soon to get them all to get closer to each other. Some seem to be on the brink of death due to starvation, dehydration, and fatigue. Others seem to be making the most out of their alliances. Two citizens died, 36 remain. Day 5 (18 June) Letitia Milano of is killed by Bakhtawara Kohli of . Iorghu Mihailov of is killed by Gourane Tabet . Ginter Mroczek of is killed by Jackie Hamidu of . Panos Avedikian of is attacked and killed by a pack of muttation hyenas. Lydia Argyros of is killed by Marisa Ciabattoni of . ''Day 5 Recap'' Today was very exciting! We saw two epic fights that lead to the deaths of two pre-contest favorites. First off, the hometown girl, Ghana's very own Jackie Hamidu earned her first kill today after she valiantly fought and defeated Ginter Mroczek of Poland in a battle. Later on in the day, Lydia from Cyprus - who many thought would win - was cornered weaponless by Marisa of San Marino, who showed no mercy when she threw her throwing knife straight into her heart. Meanwhile, the fireworks signaling Lydia's death interrupted Gourane's (Algeria) giving of a death blow to Iorghu of Moldova. The two had fought over caught came and Gourane had him wrapped in a headlock, about to give him a fatal stab wound. Five citizens died, 31 remain. Day 6 (19 June) Vilhelmas Lankelis of is killed by Rico Navarro of . Mimi Hallström of is killed by Henri Longoude of . Augustin Kalimunda of is killed by Sen Ah Lam of . Lengyel Vali of is killed by Sen Ah Lam of . ''Day 6 Recap'' Another exciting day! Today's citizen of the day has definitely got to be Sen Ah of Singapore, who killed two tributes in one blow, reminiscent of another kill-scene we all saw back during the 2nd Earthvision. Augustin of Rwanda and Lengyel of Hungary were fighting each other, while Sen Ah of Singapore was watching in the nearby undergrowth. She had set a trap and the two were headed right towards it. They fell into it and both subsequently died from very painful bone breaks and cuts. Another surprise is that the number one favorite to win, Vilhelmas of Lithuania, was killed by Rico of El Salvador earlier this morning. Vilhelmas seemed to have been very weak from starvation, and Rico managed to easily finish off the citizen who still has the record for most kills in EBR history. Four citizen died, 27 remain. Day 7 (20 June) Vera Frusoni of is killed by Jackie Hamidu of . ''Day 7 Recap'' After two days of exciting action, the citizens seem to be taking it easy and trying not to get into conflicts. There are just a little more than half of them left now. Vera of Cape Verde became this Battle Royale's 27th death when she was spotted by Jackie of Ghana. One citizen died, 26 remain. Day 8 (21 June) Tanzilya Ablaiova of is killed by Marisa Ciabattoni of . Gourane Talbet of is killed by Otikoro Rata of . Finlay Ward of is killed by Otikoro Rata of . ''Day 8 Recap'' There were more surprises for us in store today. Hearts shattered all across Algeria and Canada as both of those countries' citizens were killed of at the same time by the unassuming Otikoro of Palau. Finlay and Gourane were both early favorites for the crown, but their lives were cut today by the mine blast. Marisa of San Marino is also proving to be a bit of a dark horse, getting her second kill today as well. Three citizens died, 23 remain. Day 9 (22 June) Isaiah Belgrave of is killed by Dalimil Matoušek of . ''Day 9 Recap'' Nothing much occurred today. Dalimil of Czech Republic finally revealed his strengths and brutally murdered Isaiah of Trinidad and Tobago. Both citizens were extremely powerfully and both were capable of killing the other, but in the end it was Dalimil who got the upper-hand, though Dalimil was left with some very serious injuries. One citizens died, 22 remain. Day 10 (23 June) Dalimil Matoušek of is killed by Umair Badour of . Yulian Sokolov of is killed by Otikoro Rata of . ''Day 10 Recap'' Though not a surprise that Dalimil ended up dying of his injuries and ultimately being picked off by Umair of Mauritania, it does come as a shock that Yulian of Russia was killed so soon. He hadn't had much action during this Battle Royale, despite showing off a lot of brute force during the Semi-Final. Nevertheless, he was killed by Otikoro of Palau, who gets his third kill and subsequently finds himself as being one of the new favorites to win. Two citizens died, 20 remain. Day 11 (24 June) Umair Badour of is killed by Flourent Hadoume of . Day 12: 25 June Marisa Ciabattoni of is killed by Bakhtawara Kohli of . Day 13 (26 June) Sen Ah Lam of is killed by Kalina Hadjieva of . Majeedah Senping of is killed by Hilary Hadadd of . Ezekiel Chadha of is killed by Jackie Hamidu of . ''Day 11, 12, and 13 Recap'' Days 11 and 12 were very slow days, with only Umair of Mauritania and Marisa of San Marino being killed in that order. Day 13 had a little bit more action. Once again, the home-town favorite and host nation's very own citizen Jackie of Ghana proves why she's a huge favorite to win after she received her third kill, which was Ezekiel of Kenya. The "teenage assassin" - as her country's media calls her - Kalina of Bulgaria is surprisingly still alive and has even gotten her first kill, which was Sen Ah of Singapore. Five citizens died in the past three days, 15 remain. Day 14 (27 June) Attention Citizens: There will be a Feast at the cornucopia at noon. Good luck. Henri Longoude of is killed by Bakhtawara Kohli of . Rico Navarro of is killed by Jasmine Deloffre of . Flourent Hadoume of is killed by Kalina Hadjieva of . Adnaan Mansoor of is killed by Jackie Hamidu of . Otikoro Rata of is killed by Ella Tuahepa of . Hilary Hadadd of is killed by Andre Tsolo of . Sila Orakzai of dies of starvation and a stomach disease. ''Day 14 Recap'' Things are getting really exciting now! After today, there are now only 8 remaining citizens. Those citizens are from the countries of: Ghana, France, Bulgaria, Pakistan, Congo, Namibia, Angola, and Belize. Out of these countries, billions expect the winner to come from either host nation Ghana, or France, Congo, or Bulgaria. Pakistan and Namibia are dark horses, while Angola and Belize are complete outsiders. What will happen? Only time will tell, so stay tuned to find out! Seven citizens died, 8 remain. Day 15 (28 June) Ella Tuahepa of is killed by Jackie Hamidu of . Elisabeth Pina of is killed by Sonora Borrero of . Andre Tsolo of is killed by Kalina Hadjieva of . ''Day 15 Recap'' Another exciting day as we are now only down to five citizens! Once again Jackie from Ghana only increases her odds of winning as she now gets her fifth kill, tying the all-time record. Sonora of Belize gets her first kill, coming out of hiding behind an inconspicuous rock cavern to kill Elisabeth of Pina, another citizen who was trying to hide out for the entirety of the Battle Royale. Lastly, the Bulgarian teenage assassin is at it again, somehow managing to stab Andre of Congo in the back even though he is much stronger and taller than she is. Day 16 (29 June) Kalina Hadjieva of is killed by Jackie Hamidu of . ''Day 16 Recap'' One can literally feel the tension and excitement in the air here in Accra. The country's people really believe that they could win for a second year in a row, helped by Jackie getting her now-record sixth kill in this competition. Many betting agencies have her as the odds-on favorite to win. France narrowly beats Pakistan into second favorite with most betting agencies, while Belize remains an outsider. Top officials from the Government have been reported to have already started hosting talks with various cities across the country about who will host next. Though, as we saw last year when the Bahamas narrowly lost the crown and came second on home turf, anything can still happen and an upset should not be unexpected. One citizen died, 4 remain. Day 17 (30 June) There were no events today. Day 18 (01 July) Sonora Borrero of is attacked and killed by muttation mambas. Jackie Hamidu of is killed by Jasmine Deloffre of . ''Day 18 Recap'' What an absolute shock! Betting agencies and billions of spectators across the world are stunned that the odds on favorite and the host nation's very own citizen, Jackie, who also has the record for most kills, has herself been killed today! Jasmine of France is now the bookies' favorite. She laid out a genius plan to lure the somewhat-cocky and now full of herself Jackie to a noise. Jackie would then pass between two trees, which Jasmine fitted with super-thin yet sturdy garrote wire which she acquired at the Feast. Her plan worked perfectly! She attracted Jackie until she saw her, and gave chase. Jasmine ran under the wire, while Jackie ran straight through it, causing her to become gruesomely dismembered and lie screaming in agony on the floor. She died a couple minute later, while Jasmine watched. We are now in our Final Two! The winner will either be Jasmine of France or Bakhtawara of Pakistan. Both have even chances, but who will come out victorious? Day 19 (02 July) Jasmine Deloffre of is killed by Bakhtawara Kohli of . Ça y est! The winner of the 5th Earthvision Battle Royale is Bakhtawara Kohli of Pakistan, congratulations! Final Standings Closing Ceremony The Closing Ceremony took place the night of July 3rd and celebrated the victory of Bakhtawara Kohli and Pakistan, and overall the success of the Games in general. More cultural festivities, closing speeches, a montage of the most dramatic and noteworthy moments of the Battle Royale, and of course a slow-mo replay of the winning kill. Bakhtawara re-entered the stadium to thunderous roars and applause and along with the prime minister of Pakistan, participated in the "passing down of the torch" segment of the Ceremony. The winner of the last Battle Royale, Juliette Konadu, passed down her golden laurel reef to Bakhtawara, to be worn around her head as a prestigious crown for all official appearances until she must pass down the same crown to the winner of the next Battle Royale. The Prime Minister of Pakistan country accepted responsibility of his nation to host next year's games, while Bakhtawara symbolically extinguished the cauldron, signaling the end of the 5th Earthvision Battle Royale.